1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for preparing numerical control data required by, for example, an automatic insertion machine for inserting electronic components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, numerical control (NC) data, which are required by an automatic insertion machine for inserting electronic components, have been prepared manually in most cases. In the prior art, at every insertion of a component mechanical interference (collision) is checked between the automatic insertion machine and components which are already inserted, while inserting components one after another by utilizing the automatic insertion machine. Thus, it is very troublesome with this method to prepare and check control data, and especially to modify data when there occurs an interference. Even when a computer is utilized for checking the interference, it is inevitable that the automatic insertion ratio (the ratio of components which can be automatically inserted by the machine to all components to be inserted) drops to some extent, as this system may check the inteference only when the components are inserted according to the predetermined insertion order.